Putin managed “short contact” with Trump on a G20 summit

Between Russian Presidents and the USA was “the short contact” at the summit of “Group of Twenty” in Buenos Aires , the press secretary of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov reported. At the same time he could not tell about details, having suggested journalists to ask about it Putin at a press conference.

Peskov also could not tell whether it managed to the Russian president to meet the prime minister of Great Britain Theresa May. However, the separate conversation between them was not provided initially. On Thursday Peskov said that on both sides of “such initiatives did not arrive”, but in case of desire any of them we can quite allow the fact of their communication on the sidelines”.

Let’s remind, the American leader actually cancelled at the last minute the planned meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Argentina because of an incident in the Kerch Strait where on November 25 the Russian frontier guards fired and three Ukrainian vessels for “illegal crossing of frontier” detained. Putin and Trump also did not greet each other before the joint photo of all leaders of the G20.

According to Peskov, the Russian president made “exhaustive explanations” on an incident on the Sea of Azov to the French leader Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel. The representative of the Kremlin specified that Putin even “demonstrated it”, having drawn the scheme.

“Merkel spoke about the desire to promote permission of this situation. The word “mediation” was not pronounced and hardly it is possible. Because there is a speech about violation of frontier, about judicial proceedings, about investigative actions which are conducted concerning violators. Therefore, probably, it is impossible to speak about any mediation”, – Peskov told, answering an appropriate question of journalists.

The Russian President’s Press Secretary added that Merkel and Macron were interested in a possibility of release of the Ukrainian seamen. “This subject was touched. Putin also explained that here it is about the judgment, about investigative actions and therefore on it certain time will leave”, – Peskov told, having noted that the Ukrainian military “crossed state border of the Russian Federation and in the Russian waters misbehaved there”.

The Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yury Ushakov in turn reported that after cancellation of a meeting of Putin and Trump at the summit representatives of the U.S. Administration came for contact with administration of the Kremlin. “It is offered to continue on both sides contacts, including with Bolton [the Assistant to the President of the USA on national security John Bolton – Ushakov told, having specified that the initiative proceeded from Americans.

At the same time Putin’s assistant found it difficult to tell when other meeting of Presidents of Russia and the USA can take place. The Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in return reported in an interview of CNN that a condition for dialogue between Trump and Putin is return of the detained Ukrainian ships and seamen home.